My U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,015,032, 5,069,504 and 5,092,653 describe recreational lounges that have found widespread use, particularly at beaches and on the sun decks and patios of homes and hotels. Prior to the advent of my lounge, the backrests for conventional chaise lounges, popular in Europe, were normally fixed in position. Thus, the user was unable to adjust the backrest for comfort purposes. Although certain types of these lounges were later modified to permit the backrest to pivot and incline on a base, the externally operated locking mechanisms therefor proved difficult to manipulate and the substantial weight of the backrest (e.g., 75 lbs.) rendered the lounges impracticable for everyday use.
My above-referenced patents disclose lounges that overcome the above, briefly discussed problems of the prior art. In particular, each lounge comprises an adjustable canopy pivotally mounted on a frame to adjust the inclination of the canopy between an upright position and a lowered position, and operator-control means for selectively pivoting the canopy. The lounges have exhibited excellent performance, but have proven somewhat bulky for storage and/or shipping purposes. Further, I have discovered that it is desirable to provide the lounge chairs with the capability of being easily rotated for selective sunning and/or viewing purposes. The lounge of this invention solves these latter problems.